Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts Works - Essay Example

Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Works s Introduction Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the classical era1. From his earliest childhood, Mozart showed prodigious capabilities. Already competent on violin and keyboard, from the age of 5 he began composing and performed before the European royalty. He was later to engage as a court musician in Salzburg. He visited Vienna in 1781 where he composed abundantly. It is while in that city of Vienna that he composed a majority of his best-known concertos, operas, symphonies, and portions of the requiem2. The pieces to represent Mozart’s works will be arranged based on their genres. The common threads were both compositional and chronological from 1761 to 1791, and they include: "Don Giovanni, a cenartecominvitasti" (Don Giovanni K. 527); Twelve variations for piano on “Ah, vousdirai-je, maman.” K. 265/300; Divertimento in D Major, K. 131 – V. Minuet; Concerto for violin and orchestra in G Major, K. 216 – III. Allegro; Piano sonata in a minor “Paris” K. 310 – I. Allegro; Symphony in G minor K. 183- Allegro con brio; Sinfonia Concertante K. 364 -- Allegro maestoso; (Aria) “Non piùandrai” (Le nozze di Figaro K. 492); (Aria) "Queen of the Night" (The Magic Flute K. 620); Piano concerto No. 24 in C minor K. 491 – I. Allegro; Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter" in C major K. 551; String quartet No. 19 in C major, K. 465 Dissonance’ I. allegro and adagio; and finally, Requiem K. 626.Introitus - Requiem aeternam. This categorical arrangement makes it easier to relate to the specific genres that were developed by Mozart. Discussion Mozart was a versatile composer writing in every major genre, such as opera, symphony, solo concerto, piano sonata, and chamber music including string quintet and string quartet. Although these forms were not new, Mozart advanced their emotional reach and technical sophistication3. Albert, Herman in W. A. Mozart argued that he almost solely developed and popularized the classical piano concerto. The major characteristics of classical style are all present in the music by Mozart. The hallmarks of his works include balance, clarity and transparency4. 1. Piano The piano is a vital instrument in Western classical music, jazz and other complex western musical genres. A majority of composers such as Mozart were great pianists5. For example, Mozart often used the piano when composing chamber music as an accompaniment. In that respect, classical piano music comes in several musical genres. First, a concerto comprises of an orchestral ensemble a soloist or a smaller group. The piano is the solo instrument in a piano concerto. The concerto is comprised of three contrasting movements: fast, slow and fast. Notable piano concertos include Chopin - Piano Concerto No. 1 and Mozart’s - Piano Concerto No. 16. Second is the piano sonata which is usually comprised of three to four movements, with the first movement always in sonata form. Next is piano trio and it is one of the most common forms of chamber music involving a piano and two other instruments; although the common instrumentations include piano, cello and violin. The fourth genre is the piano quintet which involves a piano with four other instruments. Lastly, solo piano comes in several genres, such as prelude, etude, polonaise, mazurka, and nocturne (Green). The first selection for piano is Piano Sonata in A Minor “Paris” K. 310 – I. Allegro. It was composed in Augsburg and Mannheim on November-December 1777.This work has three movements namely: allegro con spirit, andante con espressione, and Rondeau allegro. The first movement is in the form of a sonata. While its first subject has a quasi orchestral opening, the second subject in the dominant key is quieter. The second movement has an episodic structure A-B-A-B-A-coda. The last movement is a sonata rondo. This piece was selected because it has a slow cadenza-like passage that contains a quick ascending chromatic scale leading back to the first theme7 (Irving, 1997).Instruments: piano, cello and violin, and strings. The second selection of the piano is Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor K. 491 – I. Allegro. It is a concertante work for piano and orchestra. This piece was composed by Mozart when he was 25 years old C. 1778 while he was staying in Paris from April to September of that of 1786. Instrumentation: 2 oboes, flute, 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets, 2 horns, 2 clarinets, strings, and timpani. It is the only piano concerto by Mozart that the soloist plays after the cadenza in the first movement. It is regarded as Mozart’s greatest work8. This piece as selected because it has scores featuring the piano. 2. Orchestra Orchestral music usually covers all the musical works for eleven or more instruments. Raynor reported that the most popular form of orchestral music is symphony and it ranges from string symphonies making use of between 12 and 14 string players to the huge symphonies of Mahler, many of which need more than 100 players. Other forms in the orchestral category include orchestral dances, symphonic poems, overtures, and incidental music for plays9. A typical symphony orchestra is made up of four groups of same musical instruments called the brass, percussion, woodwinds, and strings. John Sptizer and Neil Zaslaw in The Birth of the Orchestra: History of an Institution, 1650-1815 indicate that a smaller-sized orchestra of about 50 musicians or fewer is called a chamber orchestra, whilst a full-sized orchestra of about 100 musicians is sometimes be called a "symphony orchestra or chamber ensemble10. Initially, orchestra music was composed of a standard core of instruments which were rarely modified. However, as time progressed, the Romantic period saw changes in accepted modification with composers in the 20th century beginning to hand-pick instrumentation. However, the modern orchestra has been standardized with the modern instrumentation such as percussion, strings, woodwinds, and brass with keyboard accompaniment. There are a majority of miniatures of this type, with specific focus for the violin, flute, cello, clarinet and oboe, often with descriptive titles11. For somewhat larger appetites, there are also many accompanied sonatas dating from the period of Baroque onwards, usually in three or four movements corresponding roughly to symphonic structure. Duets also exist particularly for two instruments of similar family, such as the viola and violin, or flute and clarinet, even though pieces for almost any duo combination may be encountered. As cited by Spitzer and Zaslaw, techniques such as polytempo and polystylism have resulted in a few composers writing music where several orchestras perform at the same time. As a consequence, these trends have brought about the phenomenon of polyconductor music, whereby separate sub-conductors conduct every group of musicians12. The first piece for the orchestra is Divertimento in D Major, K. 131 – V. Minuet. It was composed by Mozart Amadeus in 1773 at a place called Salzburg. Its catalogue number is K.131. It is the first divertimenti with strings and two horns, a scoring unto which Mozart composed greatest occasional music. The instrumentation include; orchestra, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, 4 horns and strings. Its significance was that it supports harmonic and rhythmic texture of occasional music. Besides, it has long notes that are held through changes of harmony, thus producing both harmonic stability and beauty of sonority. The second piece is Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in G Major, K. 216 – III, Allegro. It was composed by Wolfgang Mozart on 12 September 1775 in Salzburg. Steinberg established that this piece is in three movements namely allegro, adagio and rondeau. The allegro is in sonata form, opening with a G major theme. It is played by the orchestra. The core theme is bright and happy discussion, between the accompaniment and solo violin. The adagio has the movement in ternary form, and in the dominant key of D major. Lastly, the third movement is Rondeau Allegro13. The instruments include; viola and violin, flute, string, trombones, and clarinet. This was selected because it opens with an orchestra theme. The third piece is Sinfonia Concertante K. 364-Allegro maestoso. It was composed in 1779 on his tour of Europe, which included Paris and Manheim. The piece uses solo violin, two oboes and horns, solo viola, and strings, the latter including a divided viola section that accounts for the works rich harmony. The solo viola part has been written in D major in place of E flat major. This technique is utilised mostly in performance on original instruments14. The fourth piece is String Quartet No. 19 in C major, K. 465 Dissonance’— I. Adagio – Allegro. It composed in 1782 and completed on January 14, 1785. It was a dedication to Joseph Hayadh. It signifies that we need to be remorseful to our departed friends. The instrumentation includes the cello, two violins and viola15. 3. Opera Cooke asserted that opera was born right at the beginning of the Baroque era, and even though stylistic approaches to the genre have been varied and numerous, the basic outlines have still remained remarkably consistent. It began in Italy at the end of the 16th century and soon spread across the rest of Europe. It is part of the Western classical music tradition16. Opera is defined by Andreas, Dorshel in The Paradox of Opera, as an art form where musicians and singers perform a dramatic work by combining text known as libretto and musical score in a theatrical setting. Dorshel added that opera usually incorporates numerous elements of spoken theatre, for instance, scenery, acting and costumes and in some circumstances, it incorporates dance17. The performance is characteristically given in an opera house, accompanied by smaller musical ensemble or an orchestra. The French opera in particular makes provision for an extended balletic interlude from the middle-period Wagner onwards. Generally, it tends to interweave a variety of elements as seamlessly as possible, and as a consequence, it avoids the heavily sectionalized procedure which has dominated the genre for over 250 years. Cairns argues that when a play is set to music, typical opera will open with a prelude or an overture that has been designed to set the scene or even introduce certain bits of the most crucial themes that will appear later on. The action is then split into scenes and acts, and within these the principal facets for expression are comprised of the following (a) the aria, duet, and trio for the soloists; (b) the chorus permits a larger group to join in more usually commenting on the action; and lastly (c) recitative, which is a formal device that is same as sung conversation. This is where the plot actually moves at a quicker pace before the next set piece makes it possible for greater contemplation on the chain of events18. Green noted that some of Mozart’s operas include: La finta semplice, K. 51 – 1768; Mitridate, re di Ponto , K. 87 – 1770; Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 - 1786; and Così fan tutte, K. 588 - 179019. The first piece selected for the opera is "Don Giovanni, a cenartecominvitasti" (Don Giovanni K. 527). It is among the most performed opera worldwide. It was composed on October 29 1787. The opera signifies that humans need to cultivate good behaviour and avoid being rude and arrogant, by blending melodrama, comedy and supernatural elements. The instrumentation include: woodwinds: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, and bassoons; brass 2 horns, 2 trumpets, and 3 trombones; percussion timpani; strings first violin, second violin, cellos, and double basses. The second piece selected for the opera is "Queen of the Night" (The Magic Flute K. 620). Berger and Foil noted that it was composed in Vienna in September 1791. It incorporates both singing and spoken dialogue. It is used as an allegory advocating for enlightened absolutism. With regard instrumentation, the orchestra consists of two flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 oboes, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones (bass, alto, and tenor), strings, and timpani20. The third piece is (Aria) "Non piùandrai"(Le Nozze di Figaro K. 492). It is an aria for bass from Mozarts 1786 opera “The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492”. The Italian libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte, his idea based on a stage comedy by Pierre. This piece was also one of three collaboration between Mozart and Da Ponte. Mozart used symphony in way that all of themes’ styles are consistent. At same time, the orchestra brings out two themes, (a) fast one and (a) slow one. This is a very good way to show humour, wit, and jovial tone. But also because of the complete, dynamic and significant effect, this piece mobilizes creates a great atmosphere, so this is part of the reason that the opera is often played alone. 4. Symphony In Western classical music the symphony is an extended musical composition, generally scored for concert band or orchestra21. Hansen added that a symphony contains at least one episode or movement composed with reference to the sonata principle. A majority of symphonies are generally tonal works in four movements with the first being in the form of sonata that has often been described by music theorists as the structure of a ‘classical’ symphony. As cited by Herman, some of Mozart’s works that conformed to this model include: Symphony No. 25, K. 183 - g minor – 1773; Symphony No. 38 Prague, K. 504 - D Major – 1786; Symphony No. 39, K. 543 - E flat Major – 1788; Symphony No. 40, K. 550 - g minor – 1788; and lastly, Symphony No. 41 Jupiter, K. 551 - C Major – 178822. Kennedy noted that a symphony is usually in four, but occasionally only in three, in addition to being characterised by contrasting movements with the outer ones being vivacious in character, with a more reflective slow movement. This structure contrasts with a minuet or scherzo. Although symphonies are still almost always orchestral works, designating a work a "symphony" still implies a degree of seriousness of purpose and sophistication. Kennedy added currently that there has also been diversification in the size of orchestra needed23. The first piece selected for the symphony is Symphony in G minor K. 183 -- Allegro con brio. It was composed by Wolfgang Mozart in October 1773, just after the success of his opera seria Lucio Silla. It is one of the symphonies that were composed by Mozart in G minor24. It is laid out in standard classical form, allegro con brio, G minor, andate E-flat major, menuetto & trio in G minor and G major respectively, and Allegro in G minor. The second piece is Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter" in C major K. 551 – IV. Molto Allegro: It is the last symphony created by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on 10 August, 1788. The symphony is scored for flute, two bassoons, two oboes, two horns in C, timpani in C and G, two trumpets in C, and strings25. Mozart used the symphony to conceal science and made it a vehicle for music. A requiem by Mozart included the Requiem K. 626.Introitus - Requiem aeternam. It was written on 1791 in Vienna, although it was left unfinished at the death of the composer on December 5. It was completed on 1792 by Franz Xaver. It was delivered to Count Franz who had secretly commissioned the piece for a requiem mass so as to honour the February 14 anniversary of death of his wife26. The requiem mass has intensity, passion, and emotion behind each movement. Conclusion All the works from Mozart show to us that he has composed over 600 works, which many acknowledge as pinnacles of chamber, symphonic, operatic, contertante, and choral music27. Due to his most enduring popularity of classical composers of all time, he has had a significant influence on the art of Western music. The common threads were both compositional and chronological from 1761 to 1791. What makes Mozart stand out is his profound influence on Western art music, a fate which has not been attained any other classical music composer. He also had a gift of absorbing and adapting valuable facets of others music. Consequently, Mozarts music stands as an archetype of the classical style. Works Cited Albert, Herman, W. A. Mozart. Cliff Eisen (ed.), Stewart Spencer (trans.). New Haven: Yale University Press.2007. Berger, William and David Foil. The Magic Flute (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Black Dog Publishing.2006. Cairns, David. Mozart and His Operas. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.2006. Cooke, Mervyn. The Cambridge Companion to Twentieth-Century Opera. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.2005. Dorschel, Andreas, The Paradox of Opera, The Cambridge Quarterly 30 (2001), no. 4, pp. 283–306. Erlich, Cyril The Piano: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.2008. Freeman Daniel, Mozart in Prague. Minneapolis: Bearclaw.2013. Green, Aaron. 2014. Classical Piano Music Styles. 17 March 2014 .Holmes, Edward, The Life of Mozart. New York: Cosimo Classics.2005. Grout, Donald Jay. A Short History of Opera. One-vol. ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. Hansen, Richard K. 2005. The American Wind Band: A Cultural History. Chicago, Ill: GIA Publications. Heartz, Daniel, Mozart, Haydn and Early Beethoven 1781-1802, p. 212-215, Norton, 2009. Irving, John, Mozart, the "Haydn" quartets. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1998. Irving, John, Mozarts Piano Sonatas: Contexts, Sources, Style. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1997. Keefe, Simon, Mozarts Requiem: Reception, Work , Completion. Canmbridge UK: Cambridge University PressPress.2012. Kennedy, Michael, "Sinfonietta". The Oxford Dictionary of Music, second edition, revised, Joyce Bourne, associate editor. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.2006. Landon, Robbins, Haydn: Chronicle and Works, 5 vols, (Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 1976–) Mozart, W. A. Piano Concertos Nos. 23-27 in full score. Dover Publications, New York. Parakilas, James, Piano Roles: Three Hundred Years of Life with the Piano. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.1999. Smith, Erik. Notes to Mozart Sinfonia Concertante K364 (L.P. DECCA 1964) Raynor, Henry (1978). The Orchestra: a history. Scribner. Solomon, Maynard, Mozart: A Life (1st ed.). New York City: Harper Collins.1995. Sptizer, John, and Neil Zaslaw. The Birth of the Orchestra: History of an Institution, 1650-1815. Oxford University Press. 2004. Steinberg, Michael. The Concerto: A Listeners Guide. Oxford University Press.1998. Read More